We hit alpha this week! Wooo! While this is exciting news for us, lots of people were left scratching their heads… what exactly is an Alpha, you ask?

That answer changes a lot depending on the studio, but for us it means we have first pass completion of all content in the game. All features are implemented. All levels are playable. All bosses are fightable. All items are gettable! Everything is there. You can play the entire game from front to back. It’s all real!

The next step is heading towards beta. For us, beta means we will have all of that content finished, and the only outstanding issues in the game will be fixing small bugs and issues that remain. In the remaining weeks, our time will be spent doing playthroughs, playtesting, balance, iteration, polish, dialog, localization, testing, certification...exciting stuff. The polish that happens now is one of the most important phases of development!

And if you’re wondering why it took so long, let’s just say the game got a lot bigger than we originally intended, and we think everyone will be happy with that! To celebrate this achievement, we created a NEW TRAILER...but you can’t see it here...keep reading...

Did you ever look at our web site and think it was a little… lacking? Maybe it was ironically bad, and we needed some spinning skull gifs or a harsher color scheme to really make your eyes hurt. Yeah, we knew it wasn’t so great…

Well, bleed from your eyes no more! We have totally retooled our web site into a destination for all things Yacht Club and Shovel Knight related! Videos, news, streaming schedules, character spotlights, insight into our design process, blogs about games, and general video game love will all be present here. We have a few posts already up there to start us off! So come on! Visit the new site!

Hello again, Shovelers and Shovelettes!! The team here is all hard at work on the remaining stretch of Shovel Knight so that it can magically arrive on your digital doorstep later this Winter. In the meantime, we just finished up our Dig The Vote campaign to decide which three Boss Knights will be playable in our alternate campaign mode update. I hope you like to bomb jump, strut, and look awesome!

Specter Knight, Plague Knight, and King Knight!!

#1: Specter Knight

The immortal and immaterial terror, Specter Knight, took first place easily! Now, his fate in the campaign is sealed. Get ready for scythe swinging and frail floating... it’s hard to resist the allure of the undead.

#2: Plague Knight

Plague Knight, reticent and reclusive, has been voted into the spotlight! Being in the spotlight makes Plague Knight a little uneasy, and when Plague Knight gets uneasy, things start to explode. This should make for an interesting campaign!

#3: King Knight

What!? This has to be a trick. We all know King Knight is a cheater, so we counted and recounted. Either the ballot stuffing was very well done, or everyone truly loves the Sultan of Swagger! King Knight triumphantly joins the campaign (and steals center stage for the illustration too!)

Fun Fact: Propeller Knight was the next in line at #4. So close!

Another Fun Fact: the Enchantress was very polarizing! She receiving many first place votes (more than Plague Knight!), but she also received the most last place votes, which knocked her out of the running with the way our votes were weighted. Love her or hate her, we suppose!

You can read up on all of the playstyle ideas right here[yachtclubgames.com]! Of course, all Boss Knights will bce playable in our future Battle Mode update. The perfect arena to show everyone who's boss!

Hey digging aficionados! Whether you arrived here by browsing through Steam or are hitched in for the long haul by following our updates, we wanted to thank everyone for continuing to show their enthusiasm for Shovel Knight right here on our Steam Greenlight page! We just recently broke 1000 comments and we have read each and every one of them! Outpouring of enthusiasm and the occasional question are always welcome. Congratulations to snapplejaxs on the 1000th comment get! Send him a trading card or a hat for his troubles!

PAX Prime (and Panels) Approach!

And it’s coming up at the end of this month! Will Shovel Knight be playable there? We don’t know exactly, but it might be!

We’re participating in a panel, too! Our own Sean Velasco will be participating in “Doing Retro Right” on friday, August 30, from 3:30-4:30. We’re gonna talk about retro games and it’s going to be INFORMATIVE!

Are you going to PAX? We might also be there in person to dote on you lovingly. Find us on the PAX show floor and we might give you some shwag! Check these wonderful new buttons, packaged up brand new and waiting...

Shovel Knight Progress Report!

Development on Shovel Knight is cooking; and we’re working nonstop to ensure that it’s great. We’re starting to shift our focus to a new set of core levels, creating the structure for challenge mode, and doing of design work for the next batch of stages. In the meantime, we’re working on visual designs for all things Shovel Knight! Check out these sketches of potential poster and promotional art!

A little sneak peak at what we’re doing with the Lost City - Mole Knight’s domain!

Propeller Knight's stage, a realm of harrowing heights and well timed leaps!

Perceptive relic hunters may come across this sub weapon: The Propeller Dagger! You can use this to zoom a short distance, damaging whatever is in your wake!

The end result of our first playable Boss Knight design sessions!

GIVE ME THE SOUNDTRACK

Still have the trailer music stuck in your head? After the game’s release, the soundtrack will be available for download with a 'pay as you want' model, like many of Jake “Virt” Kaufman’s other soundtracks, right on his Bandcamp[virt.bandcamp.com] page. Give that a listen and you’ll have all sorts of energetic, catchy tunes which can pop into your brain when you least expect it!

Pre-orders are Now Available!

Some of you may have noticed that our site has been updated with buttons to pre-order Shovel Knight! Steam pre-orders will absolutely be happening closer to release, but if you or anyone you know was interested in further supporting us through pre-orders, now you can! This includes standalone downloads and a Steam key!

If you want to hear more from us, you can follow us through all sorts of other websites:
Facebook - For screenshots, art, and more!
Twitter - For silly pictures and assorted goings on!
https://twitch.tv/YachtClubGames - For live pixel streams plus the occasional run through Zelda 2 (or the much less successful attempts at Wai Wai World)! We might stream Shovel Knight here too...

Shovel Knight is now officially Greenlit for Steam! This is very exciting news for us here and it is all thanks to everyone here for stopping by. Now the discussion boards are all the more important! Feel free to ask questions or request features that you would like to see in game. In the mean time...

Introducing Tinker Knight

Some knights love rushing into the glory of battle, ready to crush the skulls of their enemies! Tinker Knight is not one of those knights. He does his fighting before the battle begins, laboring on diabolical devices that do his work for him. The wrench is the tool of his trade, doubling as an engineering device and a melee weapon. Some are quick to dismiss Tinker Knight’s lethality... usually just before falling victim to one of his mechanical monstrosities!

Pros: Gregarious demeanor, hard worker
Cons: Rough hands, works long hours, always out to prove himself

The Shovel Knight Kickstarter has skyrocketed past new stretch goals! This means the team will fully dive in to Linux and Mac support for Shovel Knight! In addition to that our Greenlight momentum has really picked up! Thank you everyone for stopping by and passing judgement and for spreading the word to others! Please note that our original date of Winter 2013 does not reflect the target release date of these additional platforms. We'll be sure to let you know once we have a more information.

So you don't go away empty handed, here is some exciting new content! Be sure to check the Kickstarter for daily updates!

Introducing... Plague Knight!

Sometimes, the bomb is mightier than the sword. Deep in the recesses of his alchemical lab, Plague Knight perfects concoctions both poisonous and explosive. Toxin, disease, and death are his playgrounds. Even his comrades give Plague Knight a wide berth, because he spreads more than just the common cold. With an array of mysterious and magical bottles at his side, Plague Knight could be considered the black sheep of The Order of No Quarter.

Manami Matsumae, the original composer of Mega Man, is writing songs for Shovel Knight!!!

I am just as excited about this news as the day we first heard the possibility. Manami Matsumae, the legendary composer of Mega Man and U.N. Squadron (among many others), is going to compose two songs for Shovel Knight!

Incredible music! She even made the original sound effects. The sound of Mega Man dying? The sound of the boss doors opening and closing? The sounds that have permanent residence in your brain and ours? Manami Matsumae is responsible! And now, she is going to be writing two songs for Shovel Knight. We are beyond excited.

Matsumae's music perfectly captured the tone for Mega Man and all of its sequels. She is a master of injecting personality into a stage or character through her music. We are humbled so greatly to have her contribute to the creative force of Shovel Knight!

This awesome collaboration has been made possible by The Koopa Soundworks team, who reached out to us with this opportunity. They also have a great interview with Manami on their site[koopa.tv]. Please check it out and give them and Manami all of your love, they are the best!

New Stage Theme - The Flying Machine

Since we're talking about music, our Audio Guy stopped by to do a live composition night on stream. Here's the end of day result for The Flying Machine, the stage music of Propeller Knight. Give it a listen![www.twitch.tv] It's always amazing to watch Jake work. He's like some kind of wizard.